Burning The Memories That Fade
by TheRiverIsASong
Summary: "'This is the memory. This is the curse of having too much time to think about it. It's killing me. This is the last time. This is like forgiveness. This is endless.'" -On Hold
1. Chapter 1

**-Chapter One-**

One year old the bench was built by her grandfather.  
Two years old the bench was where she played.  
Three years old the bench was the place she would hear lullabies.  
Four years old the bench was where she experienced her first sighting of the paranormal.  
Five years old the bench started to grow old, the second experience happening.  
Six years old the bench was where she sat when she heard of her grandfather dying.  
Seven years old the bench was where she meant her best friend.  
Eight years old the bench was where she held her baby sister and brother.  
Nine years old the bench was where she told her best friend that she could see and talk to spirits.  
Ten years old the bench was where her birthday party was held.  
Eleven years old the bench was where she learned how to play the guitar and to sing.  
Twelve years old the bench was where she found her first love.  
Thirteen years old the bench was where she had her first kiss.  
Fourteen years old the bench was where her paranormal sightings grew, her talking to them.  
Fifteen years old the bench was where she had her first heartbreak.  
Sixteen years old the bench held her as she cried about her younger siblings being murdered.  
Seventeen years old the bench was where her quiet place was.  
She stills awaits for eighteen, knowing the bench would be there for her.  
The bench was always there for her.  
Always.  
Her fingers stung the strings upon the guitar, checking the tone of the song as she tuned the strings, finding the perfect tune. Strumming the strings once again, she let out a lyric of the song she would be singing, talking a deep breath before letting it out as she heard her name called from the stage. Standing from the floor where she was sitting, her black hood covered her face, her light blue hair slipping out into a side braid as it fell down to her chest, the end tied tightly. Her black converse were heard as she stepped out from behind the curtain, walking towards the stool as she felt her dark blue skinny jeans rubbing together. Swinging her legs across the stool, she leaned up against the mic, letting out a small sigh as she began to talk, the familiar faces of her family sitting close to the stage on the right.  
"Have Faith In Me by A Day To Remember." She spoke as she adjusted her hands, moving how she was positioned before she licked her lips, beginning to play.  
"Have faith in me 'cause there are things that I've seen I don't believe. So cling to what you know and never let go. You should know things aren't always what they seem," Moving her hands, she continued, remembering each lyric as it was written in her mind. "I said I'd never let you go, and I never did. I said I'd never let you fall and I always meant it. If you didn't have this chance then I never did. You'll always find me right there, again. I'm going crazy 'cause there are things in the streets I don't believe. So we'll pretend it's alright and stay in for the night. Oh, what a world. I'll keep you safe here with me."  
"I said I'd never let you go, and I never did. I said I'd never let you fall and I always meant it. If you didn't have this chance then I never did. You'll always find me right there, again. I said I'd never let you go, and I never did. I said I'd never let you fall and I always meant you didn't have this chance then I never did. You'll always find me right there, again," Keeping up the speed, she continued on, switching hands as she sang, not bothering to look up. "They've got me on the outside, looking in but I can't see at all. With the weight of the world on my shoulders, they just wanna see me fall. They've got me on the outside, looking in but I can't see at all. With the weight of the world on my shoulders, they just wanna see me fall. Have faith in me. I said I'd never let you go, and I never did. I said I'd never let you fall and I always meant it. If you didn't have this chance then I never did  
You'll always find me right there, again. I said I'd never let you go, and I never did. I said I'd never let you fall and I always meant it. If you didn't have this chance then I never did. You'll always find me right there, again. I said I'd never let you go, and I never did. I said I'd never let you go, and I never did. I said I'd never let you go, and I never did. I said I'd never let you go, and I never did."  
Finishing the song, she peeked up at the audience which erupted in clapping, her smile rewarding herself as the voices of happiness and clapping flowed in her ears. Before she stood up from her seat, a faint whisper was heard behind her in her left ear, it telling her, "Please don't stop."  
Looking behind her, a little girl, probably about seven or eight with brown hair, braided into ponytails that were off her shoulders, and light brown eyes, was standing in a blue dress, giving a smile to show she lost one of her front teeth. Trying to ignore the little girl, she turned back to see the audience's clapping begin to die down, her turning back to see that the little girl had disappeared, her walking from where she used to be until she was behind the curtain, the little girl waiting in the corner of the room.

"Do you know what happened to you?" Elise Brooklyn knelt down to the little girl, placing the guitar on the floor as she put her hands in her lap.  
"What happened to me?" She questioned, not understanding that she had passed away, looking like she was strangled as the red line across her throat showed evidence.  
"You passed away. Do you, um," Turning to look as if expecting for someone to be watching her, she looked back to the little girl, continuing. "Is there a light or something that you see?"  
"Do you mean that light in the corner," Looking over to the corner, her eyes flashed from the darkness of the stage to a bright light in her eyes. "Is it following me?"  
"It's time to cross over. If you walk in the light, you'll find the people you love. Can you walk into the light for me, sweetheart?" Looking at the mark on her neck start to disappear, she nodded as a tear came out of her eye, her walking towards the light.  
Standing up, the wind of her crossing over caught her hair, blowing her hood off to show a tear slowly falling down her face, her wiping the back of her hand against it before she picked up her guitar, heading towards the door. Pulling open the door, a voice called her name, her turning around to see Daniel, her best friend, walking towards her.  
"Your performance was beautiful." Hugging her, the feeling of warmth gathered over her before he pulled away, a smile appearing on his face.  
"You've heard me sing that song seven times in the past week. What's happening?" A sudden feeling of sadness washed over her, making her want to cry as she sneaked a look into his eyes.  
"My father just passed away and my mother is moving me away to Maine for his funeral." The feeling of happiness was pushed away as they hugged once again, only tears and sadness brought to the room, the hug lasting forever before they pulled apart.  
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She whispered, barely enough strength for her to talk as her best friend wiped away his tears, giving a small smile.  
"This shouldn't ruin your night. I just wanted to say that we're leaving tomorrow morning. I wanted to say goodbye." He told her as she choked a sob away, her hands covering her mouth as she started to cry again, only for her best friend to hug her once more, her slowly falling to the floor.  
"Please, don't leave me. You can't leave me." She whispered into his shoulder as she was now on her knees, afraid to hug his as she felt the emptiness collapse over her, shutting her away.  
"Please, don't cry for me," Pulling her head back, he rubbed his cheeks as he softly brushed away a few tears, looking into her eyes. "I shouldn't be worth all those tears."  
"My best friend is leaving me and we'll never see each other again. You're leaving me, but I shouldn't be crying right now. It's not my turn to cry," Pulling the sleeve of her sweatshirt out, she rubbed the tears away as she continued, her mascara smearing across her nose. "It's your turn."  
"'This is the memory. This is the curse of having too much time to think about it. It's killing me. This is the last time. This is like forgiveness. This is endless.'" Quoting the song, The Memory by Mayday Parade, he softly took her back in his arms, holding her as he rocked her back and forth.  
"Listen," Pulling her face back into his hands, he put his forehead against her's, eyes closed as he whispered in her ear. "When we turn eighteen, we'll meet in Florida and stay together until we die."

When two weeks passed, she had convinced herself to stop listening to The Memory by Mayday Parade, the memory of her best friend becoming more awful to think about. The posters they made, the pictures that were taken of them, everything had been wrapped and put into boxes, shut off from the world as they were put in the attic, the darkest corner. She discovered three weeks later that her best friend was put into a hospital after a car accident from him driving over to Beacon Hills to surprise her.  
She was the first one at the hospital.  
"He's resting at the moment. You can visit him when he wakes up." Nurse McCall told her, placing her hand on her shoulder before leaving down the hall.  
Staring at her hands, she remembered the day she told Daniel that she could talk to and see spirits, no laugh as he believed her. Most people didn't.  
Looking up, she saw her best friend standing next to her, him smiling as a few cuts were across his arms, legs, and face.  
"They told me you were sleeping." She said, standing up as she started walking with him towards his room, a smile across her face.  
"You know the day you told me about you talking to spirits and seeing them? The reason I didn't laugh was because you lying to me was impossible. We were inseparable and you would never lie to me. The happy days we had, the sad ones, the mad ones, the tragic ones- all of them were days spent together. You know me as if you were my twin and I'll never be any closer to anyone than I was with you." Daniel told her, them slowly walking as she gave a smile to him.  
"I'm just happy that you tried to surprise me and you're alright." She said, looking away from his face as she looked towards the floor.  
"You wouldn't forget me, would you?" Daniel asked her, suddenly stopping as she looked at him in surprise, thinking about the question.  
"No," She whispered, taking off down the hall as she skidded to a stop at his room, looking to see him in his bed, the straight line telling her he was gone. "No."  
Running over to him, she fell to the floor, grabbing his hand as she fell apart in tears, screaming, "Nurse," over and over again as she gathered enough strength to pull herself on him, hugging him as her chest went up and down quickly, tears spreading down her face.  
The nurse came.  
She was pulled from the bed.  
His pulse was checked.  
They tried to bring him back.  
He never came back.  
Walking out of the room, using the wall to keep her up, she went into shock as she tried to not cry, reaching the waiting room to see his mother in the chair, her turning her head as she fell to the ground, crying. His mother jumped from her chair, racing to the room to meet the nurse in the hall, his mother crying as she fell into a chair, not believing what was being said. Turning to look at his mother, she leaned against the wall as she tried to collect her tears as the people surrounding the area stared at her, two boys from her school, Scott McCall and Stiles Stilinski looking towards her. Sucking in a breath, she attempted to calm down as she put her elbows on her legs, sitting with her knees up before dropping her head into her lap, crying.  
He was dead.  
Elise Brooklyn's best friend was dead.  
Daniel Summers was dead.  
She was alone.  
All alone.


	2. Chapter 2

**-Chapter Two-  
**  
A week after her best friend had died, she felt like she was ready to face school where faces would be looking at her, hundreds of eyes, whispers about her, the attention focused on her. She couldn't hid because of what she felt or what had happened, not even if it meant to face the questions of everyone or the whispers. Even if it meant to stop crying and to accept that her best friend has moved on, him wanting her to do the same as he didn't want her life, anyone's, to suffer because he had passed away.  
She would do it for him.  
She could talk for him.  
She would live for him.  
She would breath for him.

Slipping on a pair of black skinny jeans, a black sweatshirt, and black converse, she tied her hair into a ponytail before sliding her bag across her arm, landing on her shoulder. Sucking in a breath, she decided for her mother to drive her and not her riding her skateboard to school.  
"Are you ready to do this? You can wait if you're not." Her mother said once she saw her coming down the stairs, her looking as if she would burst into tears.  
"No, mom. This can't hold me back anymore. He would want it this way." She replied, walking from the stairs towards the door as she opened it, her mother following her out.  
"If you feel as if you can't do it or need some more time, feel free to call me and I'll pick you up." Her mother told her before starting the car, backing out of the driveway as she licked her lips, confirming that she was ready to face school.  
Her audience.

Pulling up to the curb, the car shook as if it was nervous it's self and not Elise. Stepping out of the car, she watched as her mother pulled away from the curb, driving away as she sighed, looking at the school building before stepping towards it. Reaching the door, she sighed, trying to calm herself as she prepared to face the hundreds of students, pulling open the door. Stepping inside, the school went silent, studying her every move as if she was an alien walking Earth. Looking around at the faces, she continued to walk, turning down a hall on her left, the first one, disappearing from the naked eye as she darted to her locker, forcing it open as she pushed her face inside, hoping to become visible. Once her locker was open for her to see, a few pieces of paper were seen at the bottom, her bending down to pick them up, seeing the words, "Sorry," and, "Daniel," written across them in ink and lead.  
Taking them, she sucked in a breath before closing her locker, shoving them in her bag before continuing on with her way to her class. Passing by faces staring, she managed to make it to English, switching seats to sit in the back, away from any human contact or stares. Arms across her desk, she waited for the bell to ring as she looked at her desk, peeking up to see Scott McCall and Stiles Stilinski walking in. Sitting next and in front of me, they softly talked to each other just as the bell rang, them quieting down with the rest of the class.  
"Open your books to page seventy." The teacher requested, well, more like he ordered, everyone, mostly, flipping to the page before pulling out their books.  
As the teacher began to read the words on the page printed in ink, a few eyes looked towards Elise, her practically shoving her face in her book. Looking up at the class, she noticed the faces turning away from her as the teacher's back was towards her.  
"Elise." A voice whispered, it being Stiles who was next to me, giving a small smile as he made sure the teacher wasn't looking.  
"Please leave me alone." She whispered, trying to look away and to get her attention off of him only to see Scott turn around in his seat.  
"I'm sorry for what happened to Daniel." Scott tried to apologize, only the force of crying held in her from yelling at him.  
"It wasn't your fault. It was no one's." She replied, not wanting to cry as she looked in her book, hearing him whisper to her.  
"Just- if there is anything that we can do to make you feel better or if you need to talk, we're here to listen, or to talk." Scott said, turning around as they both caught the teacher staring at them, getting a quick "One-More-Word-And-You-Get-Detention" stare.

When English had finished, she pulled herself through her next class, the one after that, keeping to pull herself along the day until she was in her last class which was a study hall. Picking up her books, she took a slip to go down to the library, which she skipped to call her mother. Leaning against the wall, she slid to the floor before setting her books next to her, on the phone with her mother.  
"Nothing is easy. All I can think about is him. We were more like brother and sister than best friends." She explained to her mother, watching a couple pass in front of her, turning around the corner.  
"Do you want me to pick you up?" Her mother asked, already having the keys in her hand as she headed out the front door.  
"If you can. I don't want to interrupt anything." She replied, hearing the car start as her mother told her that she was on her way, her hanging up.  
Sliding her phone into her skinny jean's pocket, she picked up her books as she weakly stood from the floor, heading towards the parking lot as her bag swinging next to her side. Turning the corner, she saw Scott and Stiles walking down the hall, her turning around as she didn't want them to see her, nevertheless speak to her at the moment.  
It didn't happen.  
A voice yelled her name from down the hall, footsteps running as they caught up with her, her turning around to find them a foot from her.  
"Where are you heading?" Stiles asked as he saw her anxious to get somewhere which they were blocking her from doing.  
"My mom's picking me up," Passing through them, she stopped, turning around to say, "I'm going home," before continuing to walk, ignoring them.  
"Can you talk to me?" Scott asked as he pulled up against the wall by her left arm, Stiles leaving as he turned the corner, leaving her alone with him.  
"Look," Taking her arm from Scott, she looked into her eyes as she rubbed her arm. "My best friend died a week ago and I'm not in the mood for conversation."  
"Who were you talking to?" Scott questioned, tilting his head as he stared into her eyes, almost reading the answer from just her eyes, only it becoming confusing.  
"My mom." She said, rubbing her arm at her side as she knew what he was getting to, hoping that he just was seeing her on the phone with her mom.  
"No, at the hospital. Before you got news of Daniel, you were talking to someone, walking with them. Who were you with?" He asked, his head still tilted as she sighed, grabbing his arm as she pulled him over to the empty science room, opening and shutting the door.  
"Do you believe in the afterlife," Before letting him talk, she continued on with what she was saying, hoping it would make sense. "Do you believe that when people die, their spirit's don't always leave? They stay with you, like ghosts if you think about it that way. Don't think that I'm crazy or anything, but who I was talking to was my best friend after he died. I talk to spirits and can see them, sometimes helping them to cross over to the other side, helping them make peace with what they needed to have. Daniel was making that peace with me- wanting to know if I would ever forget him, and I wouldn't, but I could never tell him. It was already too late to do anything when he came to me." She told him, hoping for him to understand what she was experiencing and feeling her whole life.  
"How long?" He asked, not bothering to show any emotion or expressions to show if he was believing it or not- if he was afraid or curious.  
"Since I was four years old." She whispered, stopping herself from rubbing her arm as she watched Scott begin to walk away, opening the door.  
"Just to let you know," Turning around, the door still open with him halfway out in the hall, he looked into her eyes, letting a small smile come out as he whispered, "I believe you," before he shut the door, leaving her alone in the science room.

"Elise," Her mother knocked on the door, opening it as she saw her daughter on the bed, doing the homework she had missed out on for a week. "I'm going out to the store. Do you want to come or do you need anything right now?"  
"Not that I can think of." Elise told her as she wrote down another sentence for her Spanish homework, hoping she was translating the English essay right.  
"Just," Looking at her daughter's tired face, she continued on as she watched her go back to her homework, her swinging her legs back and forth in the air. "Get some sleep?"  
"Will do." She replied, hearing her mother shut the door, letting her know that she was leaving the house, the second clue being the car starting, pulling out of the driveway, and leaving.

Homework finished, she got off her bed, shoving it into her bag as she realized she should change into her nightgown to go to sleep. Looking through her closet, she pulled out a nightgown that had two thing straps leading down to the dress being just a little below her knees. Pulling her hair up in a bun, she let a few strands dangling beside her face, tickling her ears. Just before she was about to slid into her bed, under the covers where she would feel safe, she heard a crash from downstairs like a glass cup falling to the floor.  
Walking to the door, she opened it before walking out of her room, heading over to the stairs as she quietly went down, feeling the horror movie scene kick in. Turning the corner of the stairs, she heard another glass cup fall, her grabbing the closest thing next to her, which was a book, believe it or not, and she quietly walked into the kitchen where the last sound of the glass cup had been heard.  
Looking around the corner, she saw the two fallen glass cups on the floor, her slowly walking over as she placed the book on the table, going down to pick them up when she heard footsteps behind her. Slowly standing, she looked behind her to see a black figure, her screaming as the lights turned on, her mother appearing in the place of the figure.

"Honey," Her mother finally got her to calm down, setting her hands on her shoulders as she continued to speak to her. "It's just me."  
"Sorry. I'm just a little jumpier today. I heard a crash and came down here to find out what it was," Looking behind her at the broken glass cups on the floor. "I'm sorry."  
"It wasn't your fault. Go back to sleep and I'll clean this up." Her mother said as she pushed her towards the stairs, her nodding as she went back to her room.  
If it wasn't her mother, then who broke the glass cups?


	3. Chapter 3

**-Chapter Three-  
**  
Staring in the mirror, she watched as her blue hair was tangled into a ponytail, her side bangs covering her left eye. Her black skinny jeans went along with her black sweatshirt and her black converse, her make up being as dark as she could possibly make it. Walking over to her dresser, she picked up a charm bracelet for her ankle that was made by Daniel. Bending down, she lifted the bottom of her jeans on her right ankle a little above the ankle, wrapping the charm bracelet around her ankle before pulling the bottom of the jeans over it, covering it as she stood. Turning, she saw her mother waiting at the door, dressed in a black dress that went a little below her knees, two thin spaghetti straps covering her shoulders.  
"Are you ready?" Her mother asked, hands held together as they were holding onto her stomach, waiting for her to answer.  
"There really isn't a way to be ready for this, is there," She said, looking at her reflection before turning back to her mother, whispering, "Waking up one day, not knowing that it's the day your best friend will pass away and you will be forced to know you are the reason why he's dead."  
"It wasn't your fault, Ellie," Walking over, she wrapped her arms around Elise as she cried into her mother's shoulder, her mother gently finding her ear to whisper, "It wasn't your fault."

Holding the white rose, she listened to Daniel's mother finish her sentence before she would go up. Each word was inspirational, the sound of the way she said them swaying the crowd that was in the seats back and forth, many crying. When she finally finished, Elise walked up to the stage, leaning into the mic as a tear dropped, seeing half the school in the audience, including Scott and Stiles.  
"There really is no way to say goodbye correctly when you know that you've lost your best friend- The one who sat through the lame jokes you made or the childish games you played. Nine years of laughing, crying, smiling, listening, talking, playing, sleeping, birthday parties, games, car rides, vacations, and staying together can't prepare you for what you're about to lose. Sometimes I like to think that he's still with me, standing beside me as he watches me sleep and wake up every day, but I know that he's not. When I go for a walk in the woods or look at the pictures of us together, I like to think that he's next to me, smiling, as if we we're doing it together, looking, seeing, breathing, but we're not. Sometimes when I was upset or sad or disappointed, he'd sing a song to me, the one that he first sang to me. I'd like to sing it to you, if you'd like, and I know that he would love what song I want to play. He loved everything I did, and I loved everything he did." Sighing, she rubbed a tear from her cheek as she went off stage to get her guitar from her mother who was waiting for her.  
Standing back on stage in a stool, the mic in front of her, she began to play, doing her best on the guitar as it wasn't meant to be acoustic, but it had to be. At least for now.  
"She is everywhere I go, everyone I see. Winter's gone and I still can't sleep. Summer's on the way, at least that's what they say, but these clouds won't leave. Walk away, barely breathing as I'm lying on the floor. Take my heart as you're leaving. I don't need it anymore," Speeding up on the guitar, her voice became a little stronger and louder as she continued. "This is the memory. This is the curse of having too much time to think about it. It's killing me. This is the last time. This is my forgiveness. This is endless."  
Slowing down on the guitar, she went on to the next part of the song, singing softly, "Now spring has brought the rain, but I still see your face and I can not escape the past. Creeping up inside, reminding me that I can never bring you back. This is the memory. This is the curse of having too much time to think about it. It's killing me. This is the last time. This is my forgiveness. This is endless. This is endless, this is endless, this is endless. Someone help me 'cause the memory convinced itself to tear me apart, and it's gonna succeed before long. This is the memory. This is the curse of having too much time to think about it. It's killing me. This is the last time. This is my forgiveness. This is endless. This is endless."  
"Someone help me 'cause the memory convinced itself to tear me apart and it's gonna succeed before long. This is endless. She is everywhere I go, everyone I see, but these clouds won't leave," Ending the song, she sat the guitar down next to her before going back up to the mic, closing her eyes. "There is this one memory when we were sitting on the bench last year, laughing at stupid old jokes and my mother came outside. She walked over to us while we were laughing and she was crying, but trying to hold it in. I- I didn't know what was wrong at the time, but I just didn't like the expression on her face. She asked if Daniel could go away for a few minutes while she talked to me. I thought that my dog had died or something, but it wasn't even close to the pain I'd soon feel in that moment. Funny how it seemed like just yesterday I was eight, holding them in my hands and now they can't bug me, or talk to me, or sing to me, or laugh with me, or anything because they are gone. I had eight years to get to know them, and I didn't. Eight years to know what they liked or who they were, and I didn't. Eight years, and now they are gone. Don't tell me I don't know what losing someone is like because I've lost everyone that I could talk to- my grandfather, my young siblings, and now my best friend. It's an awful feeling when you are suddenly alone in the world, all alone by yourself, and someone tells you that you'll find a new friend, make a new relationship, but they don't understand you don't want one. You can never talk, laugh, tell jokes, play, go on vacations, sleep, car rides, birthday parties, games, cry, or stay together with anyone like you had with that one person. Never."  
"In order to know my story, you have to know their's." Standing up, she held the rose in one hand as she walked back over to her seat, her guitar held tightly in another hand as she sat down, the silence flowing in the wind before the announcement was made to go over and say goodbye.  
There was no way to say goodbye.  
From waiting to see Daniel to being next to him, she held the rose tightly in her right hand before putting it next to his grave, rubbing her hand over his engraving before standing up. It seemed like only seconds when the coffin was lowering into the ground, her grabbing a fist full of dirt before tossing it in, a new feeling of closure washing over her as she stared into the grave. Looking off in the distance, a figure stood by a tree, her blinking as the figure disappeared, her suddenly closing her eyes again as she collapsed to the ground, knees together on her right as she fell next to the grave, her arms on her right side as she laid on the dirt, gasps going around as her mother screamed her name, running over to her.  
Trying to walk her up, the scene replayed her mind.  
Looking over.  
Turning around to see her daughter fall to the ground.  
Her daughter wouldn't wake up.  
She just...  
wouldn't.

Opening her eyes, the sound of talking overlapped her thinking as a pair of arms wrapped over to her, sobbing in her ear to figure out her mother was holding her. Looking over her mother's shoulder, she saw a nurse talking to a doctor outside the door, discussing her as she heard, "Elise's condition is unknown. There was no reason for her to collapse like that."  
"Wha-" Pulling her mother to look at her, she began to ask what had happened. "What are they talking about, mom? My 'condition?'"  
"What is the last thing you remember?" Her mother asked, sitting on the edge of her bed next to her as she looked into her eyes.  
"A figure was off in the distance. I- I was standing over Daniel's grave and I thought I saw him. I thought I saw Daniel." She explained to her mother, remembering how his hair was up, just a little spiky, but not as much as she remembered.  
"You don't remember collapsing?" Her mother questioned, seeing a look of fear and surprise on Elise's face which made her stop.  
"I remember the figure. I only remember the figure." She felt her mother wrap her arms around her again, her doing the same as she held tightly.

Laying down, she rested her head on her pillow, looking at the ceiling before hearing a knock at the door, Scott and Stiles outside her room. Blinking, she clenched her sheets that were on her, opening her mouth as she mumbled, "Why are you here?"  
"We wanted to see if you were okay," Scott said, walking inside as Stiles followed, sitting in the chair next to the bed as Stiles sat in the one beside him. "Are you?"  
"In a hospital bed, best friend dead, with an unknown condition," Turning her head towards them, she whispered softly, "Nowhere close to fine. Fine is so far away that it doesn't exist anymore."  
"My mother's a nurse her, in case you didn't know, and she told me that it's not that bad," Leaning forward, Scott continued as he said, "You'll be alright."  
"No, I won't be alright. I'm never going to be alright. You say that like it's true, but it's not. How can you possibly be alright when your life is disappearing before you eyes," Turning her head towards the window, she closed her eyes, looking back to Scott as she said, "I see no reason to talk, to life, to breath. Everyone is gone."  
"How would you feel if your younger siblings, if you had any, died, or your grandfather died," Looking from Scott to Stiles, she didn't blink as she stared into Stile's eyes before turning her head towards Scott, swaying it a little before continuing. "Or your best friend died?"  
"Please," Turning around, she looked at the floor as she whispered to them, "Leave me alone. No one can bring any of them back."  
Her eyes closed as the sound of whispering filled the room before footsteps took it's place, the door shutting to confirm them leaving.  
She was officially all alone.


	4. Chapter 4

**-Chapter Four-  
**  
Holding her mother's hand, she looked into her eyes before talking to her, feeling as if her mother was begging for her to talk- To say anything.  
"I am seventeen years old and am turning eighteen next year. Will my whole life be like this?" Her hair had been let down, her light blue hair now in a side braid as she talked to her mother, still in the hospital after four days of being checked on.  
"Life is confusing. You feel love, hate, sadness, happiness, fear, nervous, scared, frightened, awful, and so many other emotions, but it's worth it when you find your true love- Him." Her mother wrapped both of her hands around her daughter's, smiling.  
"There's this one boy, well, two of them, but one visits me more than the other. His name is Scott McCall and he visits me daily. Almost hourly, but he has a life," Sitting up, she looked into her mother's eyes as she continued to talk. "I feel better when I am around him. He makes me feel happy, not sad like I would be when he would leave or when I'm alone. He doesn't make me feel like I want to die anymore. He almost makes me feel in love, but I can't be. Not now."  
"It comes at crazy times, darling. Anyway, I'll visit you tomorrow afternoon, okay?" Kissing her forehead, her mother left as her hands left her daughter's, finally leaving the room as the door shut.

The view of Beacon Hills was seen from her window, the lights gleaming in the darkness as it was ten in the middle of the night. A voice was heard behind her and she looked to the floor, knowing who it was.  
"How do you make me feel the way I do?" She asked, not looking up as footsteps got closer to her, slowly taking each step.  
"There is no reason. There shouldn't have to be a reason." Scott said as he was suddenly behind her, his breath tickling her neck.  
"None," She asked, only answering it herself as she continued on with what she was saying. "Sometimes there is a reason, like there is an answer. Almost everything is answered. Almost everything has a reason. We have a reason, don't we?"  
"Elise," Wrapping his arms around her waist, she leaned her head on his chest, resting it there as his voice was filling her ears. "You are beautiful, funny, creative, lovely, and so many other things that it can blow anyone's mind, even mine."  
"Don't you ever feel like the world doesn't need you anymore? There are over seven billion on this planet, why am I needed?" She asked, almost like asking herself as no one answered, just him holding her as they looked out into Beacon Hills.

Changing into a pair of blue skinny jeans, black converse, and a blue top that had layers falling to her thighs, showing her shoulders, her light blue hair laid upon her shoulders, her side bangs pushed over her eye. Waiting, she watched as her mother filled out her forms for her release out of the hospital, which ended in twenty or so minutes. Walking out of the hospital, she watched as Scott was walking inside, somewhat looking as if he would be visiting Elise, but she didn't bother him.  
"If anyone comes over, could you send them home? I'd like to sleep for today." She told her mother as they got to the car, her mother unlocking the doors as she got in the passenger seat.  
"Of course I will." Her mother replied as she got in the driver's seat, pushing the key in as the car started, starting to move as, once again, silence filled the useless air.

Laying on her bed, knees to her chest, she put her hands together by her face, using them as a pillow as her blanket covered her from head to toe, submerged into the darkness. Since she got home, her mother has been trying to get her to eat things from cookies to toast to sandwiches to soup.  
Nothing was working.  
As she laid in bed, being alone for hours, she suddenly felt a pain in her stomach, almost twisting in like a sharp object- A knife.  
Sitting up, she scrambled away from the blankets and her bed as she fell off onto the floor, getting on her stomach as she attempted to get out of her blankets. Once she was, she ran out of the room, trying to find the nearest bathroom which she dived into, slamming the door before locking it. Leaning into the toilet, she threw up the food she had earlier, only to realize it wasn't food- It was black.  
Pulling herself away from the toilet, she wrapped her arms around her knees as she heard the sound of her mother yelling for her to open the door. She just sat there, curled up, looking at the toilet as she still had some of the black substance on her bottom lip and chin.  
She covered her ears at the yelling, trying to stand her best as she dragged herself over to the mirror, getting into a standing position as she saw her face.  
She was pale, paler than pale, the black substance was clearly on her face, her grabbing a towel to smudge it off, it switching from her face to the towel. Flushing the toilet, she hid the towel under the sink, behind the chemicals and cleaners before opening the door.  
"How are you feeling?" Her mother immediately asked her, waiting outside the door as Elise tried to make it back to her room.  
"Awful, mom. Did anyone come by?" She asked, pulling herself to her room, waiting at the door for her mother to answer.  
"Scott McCall." She replied, wondering why she would care who came over if she didn't want to see anyone or talk to anyone.  
"Can you ask him to come over," Walking inside her room, about to shut the door, she turned around and whispered to her mother, "It's important."  
"Yeah. Sure thing." She sounded breathless, but walked away to call him and to ask him to come over for Elise as she asked.

Watching her door open, a quick knock being added, Scott was at the door, looking around for Elise who was hidden in the corner of her room, next to her windows.  
"Scott?" She asked weakly, her pale skin being hard to find, but Scott managed to see her in the corner and he shut the door, quickly hurrying over to her as he sat down in the corner with her, her leaning over to him and putting her head on his lap.  
"I thought you were doing okay. What happened?" Scott asked, her pulling up her shirt to reveal four long, deep cuts across her side that were bloody, red oozing out of the cut.  
"La- Last week I went in the woods to go for a walk, just a short one across the woods. It was raining and dark, but I needed to go for a walk. I remember hearing sounds like breathing and footsteps behind me, but nothing was there, and then it happened- A howl pierced the air, stopping all sounds, and I thought to run, but when I turned around there was a small hill and I tripped at the top. When I fell, my head hit the edge of a rock, just on the left side of my forehead," Lifting up her hair, she showed him the deep gasp that had two thin bandages on it, a few stitches sewn as well. "And I started to black out, getting dizzy. I thought I was just seeing things, but there was a creature leaning over me. It just sniffed me, around my neck, and then it raised it's claws, swiping downwards to cut at my side before running off in the distance, howling."  
Scott's expression started to raise her worries as he put his arms around her, started to hold her as his chin was on her head, him closing his eyes.  
"What is it?" She asked him, not sure rather to be quiet or to ask questions, but she was afraid and it seemed that Scott knew what it was.  
"It either kills you or turns you." He whispered to himself, her hearing it to raise curiosity as she pulled from his arms, staring at her.  
"What does that mean? Scott, what's happening to me?" She asked, staring into his light brown eyes as he looked up at her, connecting his eyes with her's.  
"You're dying." He whispered, her giving a choked sob as she stared blankly, him pulling her into his arms as she started to cry, her wrapping her arms around him, grabbing onto his shirt as she cried into his shoulder, him resting his chin on her shoulder as he started blankly.

The day had gone by faster than expected, him staying the night as she couldn't do anything without him having to help her. He pretended to leave for her mother's sake and came back through the window, both staying on the floor.  
Around midnight she started to talk to him.  
"Why do you care about me?" She asked, holding his hands as she stayed with him, sometimes squeezing his hands when it hurt.  
"You were different. A good different. I never thought I'd feel this way, even with Allison, but I do, and it feels okay." He knew that the whole school knew about Allison and him, but he didn't care because they ended their relationship a while ago.  
It was never meant to be.  
"If I'm to die, at least tell me why. Tell me why it is for me to die. Things happen for reasons- Fate, they call it, but my story doesn't end here, does it?" She gripped his hands better as another pain came across, her attempting to hide it, but failing.  
"You've had those scratches for a week. I'd assumed, since you didn't have proper medical care or sewing or anything, you'd eventually get infected, or bleed out, and die." Scott lied, letting her believe it, just for the time being, but he knew that she, on the inside, knew he was lying, but didn't want to cause him to spill anything he wasn't ready to do.  
"Scott, listen to me- If the pain catches up with me, I- I want you to stab me," She took out a knife that she swiped from the kitchen when she went on her last visit to the bathroom without Scott. "Right in the heart, to end the pain. Don't think or wonder or anything, just let your actions do all the thinking. I don't want to suffer if there is no way out, even if it means leaving you, or my mother, or whoever else is still here, this was meant to be- For me to die."  
"Elise, please don't make me do that. I can't do that." Scott told her, not taking the knife, but she managed to get him to touch it before putting it back on the ground.  
"I always wanted to know what it was like to die. Dealing with dying isn't the part I'd imagine. I thought that being dead would be a relief, to stop me from seeing spirits, but it seems like they won't stop coming. When I go to cross over, I know there will be my grandfather, my younger siblings, and my best friend waiting for me to come over. That's what is stopping me from moving on- The people I love." She said, not expecting Scott to start picking the conversation back up.  
"What about your mother? When you die, who will take care of her, be there for her, talk with her, share this house with her? You die and she lives. That doesn't seem like it's destined to be, Elise. Not for me, for you, or for anyone else. She'd die for you and you'd die for her. You have to hold on for your mother." Scott felt her let out a sob, attempting to seal it with her closing her mouth.  
She was left in her thoughts.  
Choosing difficult choices.  
To life or to die.  
Life or death.  
Life or afterlife.  
Who could make that decision when so much is at cost?  
When family is at cost.  
Friends at cost.  
Everyone.


End file.
